‘Wildwood’ Officially Faces an Uphill Box Office Battle

Published Nov 10, 2026, 11:40 AM EST

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 4000 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom. You can also hear Jake every week as the resident film and TV journalist on Track Radio. 

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Animated movies have been as popular as ever in 2026, with the biggest hitters unsurprisingly hailing from major franchises. The animated year's first big hit was The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, a video game adaptation sequel starring Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black. The film became the first billion-dollar hit in the best year since the COVID-19 pandemic in theaters, setting the tone for what would come a few months later.

Animation fans across the world would find their second billion-dollar success in June, as the return of Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of the gang in Pixar's Toy Story 5 returned more than $1.1 billion at the box office, against a reported production budget of $250 million. But the all-conquering success of major franchise additions won't satisfy the hearts of animation purists, and the latest box office weekend produced yet another blow.

The geniuses at Laika returned with another stop-motion masterpiece this Fall in the form of Wildwood. However, despite earning some of the best reviews of the year and quickly becoming the heir apparent to the Best Animated Feature crown at next year's Oscars, it's been anything but a smooth ride for Wildwood in theaters. Last weekend, the fantasy favorite took a 22% hit in ticket sales, earning just $7 million domestically and taking its global total to $47.5 million. This is infuriating for anyone who has campaigned for people to watch Wildwood, which is reported to have a $100 million budget and continues to look unlikely to succeed financially.

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Collider QuizWhich Iconic Universe
Do You Belong In?8 Questions · 5 WorldsFive legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be, or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.The Five Doors

Star Wars

Lord of the Rings

Harry Potter

Game of Thrones

Star Trek

Find Your Universe

Gate 01 / 080% Through

Question 01PURPOSE

01What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning?Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.

ABeing part of something larger than myself: a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me.BThe journey itself. The places I'll go, the companions beside me, the world I'll discover on the way.CLearning. Unlocking what I'm capable of, understanding the world's hidden mechanics, growing into something more.DLegacy. The name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me.EUnderstanding. Exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast.

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Question 02WORLD

02Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit?The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.

AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture, connected by conflict, trade, and the Force.BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges.CA world hidden inside our own, full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned.DA harsh, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation.EA future where humanity has reached the stars and must decide what kind of species it wants to be.

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Gate 03 / 0825% Through

Question 03CONFLICT

03How do you prefer your conflicts resolved?The shape of a world's conflicts tells you everything about its soul.

AThrough sacrifice and courage. Someone has to make the impossible choice so others don't have to.BThrough fellowship. The impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road.CThrough growth. Confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge.DThrough strategy. Outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt.EThrough dialogue. Finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer nobody else thought to look for.

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Question 04COMPANIONS

04Who do you want beside you when things get difficult?Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.

AA small crew: a pilot, a rogue, a warrior, each broken in their own way, unbeatable together.BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road.CFriends who grew up alongside me, who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway.DAllies whose loyalty I've earned and tested, and whose ambitions align with mine, for now.EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space.

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Question 05POWER

05What is your relationship with power?How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.

AI want to use it to protect, and I'm terrified of what I might become if I'm not careful.BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up.CI want to earn it, through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it.DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me.EI want to understand it: its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real risk.

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Question 06MORALITY

06How does your universe treat good and evil?A world's moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.

AThere is a dark side and a light side, and the choice between them is always present, always personal.BEvil is real and ancient and patient, and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it.CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people, and people are complicated, always capable of both.DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency.EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems, and understanding it is the first step to solving it.

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Question 07ROLE

07What role would you naturally fall into?Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?

AThe reluctant hero. Ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act.BThe unlikely carrier. The one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything.CThe student. Not yet who I'll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs.DThe player. Sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it.EThe explorer. Drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before.

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Question 08HOPE

08What do you ultimately believe about the future?The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.

AThat hope is real. That even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible.BThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try.CThat love and friendship and doing what's right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise.DThat the wheel keeps turning. That power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it.EThat humanity, or whatever we become, is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be.

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Reveal My Universe

Your Universe Has Been ChosenYou Belong In

Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people and your purpose.

Space OperaStar WarsA Galaxy Far, Far Away · Since 1977Hope, used as a tactic.

You believe in the cause, in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.Why This Is Your World

• You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
• You'd find your people in the Rebellion, a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
• Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict, and that is exactly your kind of story.
• The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.

From The Collider File

• The Mandalorian and Grogu brought Star Wars back to cinemas in 2026, the first theatrical entry since 2019.
• Star Wars: Starfighter, with Ryan Gosling, follows it as the next film on the slate.

The CauseRagtag CrewA New Hope

High FantasyLord of the RingsMiddle-earth · Since 1954The road goes on, and you are good at roads.

You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination, and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.Why This Is Your World

• Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
• You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory, the road more than the arrival.
• Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
• Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.

From The Collider File

• The Rings of Power returned for a third season on Prime Video in November 2026.
• Andy Serkis directs The Hunt for Gollum, now dated for December 2027.

FellowshipThe Long RoadMiddle-earth

Modern FantasyHarry PotterThe Wizarding World · Since 1997The quiet choice, made without any guarantee.

You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments. They are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.Why This Is Your World

• The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into everything that comes after.
• You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously, and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
• Harry Potter's universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
• That choice, made quietly, without guarantee, is something you understand completely.

From The Collider File

• HBO's series adaptation is dated for 2027, with Dominic McLaughlin as Harry.
• It is built to run one season per book, which gives it roughly seven years of story.

WonderLoyaltyHogwarts

Political FantasyGame of ThronesWesteros and the Known World · Since 1996You see the board. You are not frozen by seeing it.

You see the world clearly, its power structures, its hypocrisies, its cold arithmetic, and you are not paralyzed by that clarity. You use it.Why This Is Your World

• Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
• You would survive here, possibly thrive here, because you don't confuse the world as it is with the world as you'd like it to be.
• Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
• Winter always comes. You are already prepared.

From The Collider File

• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms opened HBO's 2026, premiering in January.
• House of the Dragon's third season followed it, making 2026 the busiest year Westeros has had since the finale.

Reads The RoomPlays LongWesteros

Science FictionStar TrekThe United Federation of Planets · Since 1966The future is a project, not a prediction.

You believe the future is worth building, that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilization.Why This Is Your World

• Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
• You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve, while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
• The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we got better?
• You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward.

From The Collider File

• Starfleet Academy premiered on Paramount+ in January 2026, with Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti.
• Strange New Worlds returned for a fourth season that July, moving visibly closer to the original series.

CuriosityCooperationThe Federation

Where You Fit

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Who Features in 'Wildwood'?

Called "Laika's masterpiece" in Aidan Kelley's 9/10 review for Collider, Wildwood is earning some of the best reviews of the year. Director Travis Knight's latest passion project benefits from a superb voice cast, led by Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue McKeel, who ventures into a dangerous woodland in search of her kidnapped little brother. The voice cast also features Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Angela Bassett, Richard E. Grant, Amandla Stenberg, Awkwafina, and two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali.

Wildwood is available to watch now in theaters. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more of the latest box office stories.

Cast

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  Peyton Elizabeth Lee

  Prue McKeel (voice)

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  Curtis Mehlberg (voice)

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  Carey Mulligan

  Alexandra (voice)

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  Brenden (voice)